


Your Kids Are Sick

by Lyra_Dhani



Series: The Kids [2]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Family, Gen, Random & Short, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:14:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25042240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyra_Dhani/pseuds/Lyra_Dhani
Summary: Or in which, one day, the turtle brothers woke up as human boys in a reality different from their own. Drabbles.
Relationships: Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael (TMNT)
Series: The Kids [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740874
Comments: 28
Kudos: 58





	1. The Scroll

**Author's Note:**

> I suggest you to read part 1 first, you know, if you haven't

Leo just got back from morning exercise and settle down in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand when Donnie suddenly approached him, an urgent look in his face. Leo looked down at his coffee, barely untouched, then at Donnie whose expression urging him _something_.

“I found something interesting in internet yesterday,” Donnie started almost conversationally.

Leo sighed, putting down his coffee. “What do you want, Donnie?”

“Look, Leo,” Donnie showed him the phone that he built himself. Leo studied the picture on the screen.

“Scroll of demodragon. What of it?”

Donnie didn’t seem surprised that Leo knew the scroll at a glance. In fact, his face barely showed anything all. “Keep reading.”

Despite the emotionless expression, his tone was impatient. It was always easier to _hear_ Donnie’s mood than read it when he was being like this. Not wanting to argue so early in the morning, Leo grudgingly did as he told.

“The scroll was stolen last night?” Leo asked, reading thoughtfully.

“We should retrieve it.”

Leo stared at him. Donnie’s face remained stony but he could see the calculative glint in his eyes as plain as day. He looked around, just now noticing that Raph and Mikey were still sleeping at this hour. Then he looked down at his coffee, probably getting cold as they kept going on in this ridiculous conversation.

Raph and Mikey weren’t here to convince him how much of a bad idea it was and before his morning coffee, Leo wasn’t exactly in his right mind to say no.

“You planned this, didn’t you?”

“Stopping the thief is our job, isn’t it?” Donnie smiled faintly.

“Cut your bullshell, Don,” Leo scowled. “You know I know the real reason why you proposed this to me. Drop the excuse.”

Donnie tilted his head. “Is it a no, then?”

Leo smiled wryly. They both already knew the answer. “Are you not going to tell Raph and Mikey?”

It was Donnie’s turn to scowl. “You already know.”

Leo didn’t say anything, sipping his coffee and savoring every drop of caffeine. He’d regretted this, he could tell already.

“Thank you, Leo,” Donnie said, his stoic facade cracking and something shone in his eyes. Leo hadn’t said yes but with such sincere gratitude throwing at his face, he really couldn’t reject it.

He smiled tiredly behind his glass. “You really planned everything, didn’t you?”

At least, Donnie had the decency to look guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I was actually planning an arc involving the scroll but give it up halfway


	2. Hey, There, Kids With Guns

Leo catched the shifts in the atmosphere. Something was brewing in the horizon. It waited for him, or maybe he waited for it. That was usually how destiny worked. Whether you were ready or not, ties of fate binding you and drag you to the end of time and more often than not, Leo was helpless, a spectacle in a sea of glass.

He perkep up his ears. If he closed his eyes and concentrated hard, he could hear Mikey sleeping in the second floor, Donnie building up yet another invention in his room, and Raph fixing his motorcycle in the garage.

They had to be ready to go to school soon.

 _School_ , he repeated the word in his mind. It still felt foreign to him. It had been four years since their awakening, but Leo still felt like a stranger in his own body.

With a sigh, he got up, wiped the dust off his shoulder and walked out of the training room. At the same time, he catched Raph entering the living room with punching bag dangling from his shoulder.

“Raphael,” he greeted.

Raphael stopped in his track, staring. The intensity in his eyes made Leo tilted his head curiously. “What is it?”

“You seem different,” he said, still staring. “Did you dream last night?”

Perhaps, Leo wasn’t the only one sensing the oncoming storm. “It’s blurry.”

“A nightmare?” Raph asked again, his voice getting rough.

Sometimes, Raph was really too perceptive for his own good.

“Not exactly unusal, isn’t it?” he deflected, smiling wryly. “Can you wake Mikey? We don’t want him getting us late,” He paused before adding, “Again.”

Raph must have catched the not-so-subtle change of topic, but he let it go easily enough. Leo watched him go upstair, knowing fully well that Raph wasn’t finished with his questions. His little brother had changed a lot but he was still as a blunt as ever.

Everytime something happened, they learned and changed and even their mindset had turned upside down but still, the core of their personality stayed the same. Leo watched his brothers struggled, watched them fall, watched them coping as best as they could, and sometimes he had to wonder if he ever changed with them.

Like a spectacle in a sea of glass.

Leo sighed, rubbing his temple.

“A headache?” Donnie sat down beside him, a coffee in his hand.

“I am fine,” he glanced at his brother. Donnie had gotten taller again. It wasn’t just him. Raph and Mikey too. Leo’s growth on the other hand, came very slowly to him, to the point Raph easily surpassed his height. He wondered if it had something to with his psychology, his refusal to accept the changes on his body.

Donnie seemed unsatisfied with his answer but he let it go. “Do you remember your promise?”

Leo frowned. “What promise?”

“You said, if I got the first rank in the entire school, you’ll let me buy one item from the black market.”

He remembered. It was a promise he made to motivate Donnie to take his study seriously. There was no guarantee they’d ever come back to their original state, he thought they might as well made a future for themselves here.

“You already pick something you want?” he asked.

Donnie brightened. “I have. You’re going to like it, Leo.”

He allowed himself a smile. Faintly, in the distance, he heard ties of fate snapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you probably already know, this was going to be a story on its own. I decided to abandon it (because I am lazy) and now I have to include it here


	3. The Scroll part 2

Raph waited at the rooftop, playing with his sai to pass time. When he heard the faint footsteps belonged to his brothers, he didn’t bother to turn around. “Going somewhere?”

He didn’t hold back the venomousity in his voice. This time, he had every rights to be angry. When nobody answered, he glared at them, taking in the cloak and the weapons they tucked in under. If his two brothers were surprised to see him, they didn’t show it.

Donnie didn’t flinch under his scrunity. Years ago, he would have trembled nervously. They all have changed ever since their Splinter died. Leo had explained to him once that they were simply maturing into full-grown adults and it manifested differently for each of them.

For Mikey, it was his growing awareness of his surroundings. For Leo, it was his immense patience. For Donnie, it was bigger understanding of how the world worked. Raph had a hard time catching up, struggling to adapt to each and every new changes.

Even now, as Raph studied him, he couldn’t tell if Donnie had known all along that he would face them like this or if his younger brother simply knew how to hide his fear better. When Donnie put up a wall like this, it was always impossible to tell.

“I am disappointed in you, Leo,” he said. Much to his annoyance, Leo met his gaze head on. Neither of them were backing down. “I can’t believe you put up with Donnie’s crap.”

“Don’t blame Leo,” Donnie said, his expression didn’t reveal anything but Raph recognized the determined look in his eyes. “I am the one who made him put up with this.”

Raph took a deep breath. Let in. Out. In. Out.

He didn’t want them to fight. At least, not violently. Leo’s scar was visible between strands of his hair as if to remind him of his unforgivable deed.

“You know what? I don’t care what stupid stunts you get yourself into, I just can’t believe you don’t tell me.”

At that, Leo finally showed a semblance of guilt. “Raph-“

“No,” He cut in sharply. If Leo continued, they’d argue again and looking at their conditions now, Raph couldn’t promise he wouldn’t start throwing punches. “Just take me with you.”

Donnie and Leo shared a glance, communicating with their eyes. Funny how times went by. In the past, Donnie couldn’t even understand Leo’s version of sign languange.

“Okay, Raph,” Donnie said, nodding. “You can come with us. But leave a message for Mikey.”

“Don’t give me orders,” Raph snapped. He heard Leo’s exasperated sigh. “Besides, I already did.”

For the first time since they talked, something showed in Donnie’s face. “You’ve come prepared?”

Besides him, Leo beamed. “Thank you for joining, Raph.”

The fearless leaped across the rooftop, landing gracefully on the next building. “Come on!” he shouted at them. Raph catched a smile under his hood and just like that his anger easily vanished, leaving him feeling drained instead just like how he usually felt when dealing with his big brother.

“Why?”

He turned to Donnie. “Why what?”

“You must have realized why we’re doing this,” Donnie said, not meeting his eyes. “I thought you wanted to stay.”

Raph stared at him incredulously. Afte a minute of silence passed by, he messaged his temple, it was all he could do to not lunge at his brother and choke him to death. “We’ll talk about this later. Also, if you ever bring this shit to Leo again, I will-“

“Yes, yes,” Donnie cut in, smirking. “Come on, he’s waiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, it's continuation of Chapter 1 and it ends here. The original idea is this: the three of them try to steal the scroll, they get the scroll, Mikey is angry for being left behind, they made up, Donnie wants to go back to the original Universe using the scroll, but the scroll doesn't work. This happens long before the epilogue, so, Donnie is still in the I-wanna-go-back phase. I don't originally plan post this one, but I figure it's still readable. It's Donnie's perspective (written after Raph's) that get me stuck.


	4. Hey, There, Kids With Guns part 2

Raph liked to think being human didn’t change anything. He stayed up late to train with his brothers and went on patrolling they did in their original world and the moon was up in the night sky if he craned his neck. He’d like to pretend everything stayed the same.

And maybe for some parts, it did. Leo was still the overbearing control freak, Donnie was still the arrogant genius shellhole and Mikey still lost some screws in in his head.

But, they were _fragile_. They bled so easily and they left scars. Raph had never seen so much blood in his lifetimes as a mutant turtle than the brief years he had as a human. Naturally, it made him worried.

Nightmares were common occurences under their rooftop but Raph never shared the gritty detail of his own. When he had one, it was always painted with red, he was either drowning or falling.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Leo’s voice was soft, mingled in with the dim candlelight. Even in the dim light, his blue eyes shine, taking Raph’s attention away from the shadow.

 _Like a cat_ , Raph noted idly.

“Nevermind that,” he said. “You should talk to him.”

The training hadn't gone well lately because of him. Donnie couldn't keep his focus and in turn, it worried Mikey and got him distracted. Those two got their shell handed to them way too many times in a span of three nights, a breaking record, if Raph had any say in it.

"Donnie will be fine, Raph," Leo said, dismissive. Then with a sly smile, he added, "Unlike you, he knew when to ask for help."

There were a time when such remarks would have made him blown up. Even now, Raph felt a twinge of anger, but he could easily overlooked it this time. Funny how time changed everything.

They were once a bunch of tiny turtles. And then they grew up and fought for their lives. Transform into Casey’s species in addition to get thrown into another world, Raph felt like this was just another phase of his life. And exactly for that reason, he couldn’t pretend nothing change.

He glanced Leo.

“What about you?”

Leo cocked his head. “Me?”

"If something's happen or if he comes to you, will you tell me?"

In the glimmer of candlelights, Leo looked vacant, as if the darkness could take him away. Raph stared, unable to look away. Nowadays, everytime he looked at his older brother, he catched remnants of Splinter, their dead otherworldly Splinter, the Splinter that _left them behind_.

Raph couldn’t think of it as a good sign.

"Raphael, you're asking the wrong question," Leo said, amused. "Everything will be fine."

 _Asking the wrong question_ , Raph repeated in his mind, feeling a little offended. Funny that even though it was true, Leo always knew the right words to say.

“Go back to your room, Raphael,” Leo said, giving him a flat-put dismissal.

Raph got out the training. Before he closed the door, he looked back one last time at his big brother. Wearing a yukata and half-hidden in the shadow with his blue eyes shimmering, Raph had the biggest impression of looking at a youkai.

He closed the door with clicked tongue.

.

.

Donnie's room was filled with pieces of metal lying on the floor and sketches filling up the wall and some stuff that Raph recognized as his failed inventions piling up on the corner. His desk was full of junk, something vaguely resembling robot body scattered everywhere, and if Raph looked closer he caught Donnie's woman robot's blueprint spread open under all those mechanic stuff.

Instead of a teenager's room, he felt like wandering into a mad scientist's lab.

"So, what is it you want to talk about?" He started conversationally.

Donnie adjusted his glasses. It was his new tick everytime he got nervous.

They all had slight differences in their human body. Donnie’s eyes started getting really bad when they entered middle school and Mikey once had to go to dentist because he ate candies all the time and Leo didn’t grow as tall as his siblings.

Raph had written this down in his journal to make sure he kept track of everything, but he still couldn’t get used to this.

"Do you remember the packet I got a week ago?"

"You mean the statue that made you wake up all night?" He said, remembering how Leo and Donnie got weirdly excited over it. “What about it?”

"It's gone," Donnie murmured, his eyes downcasted.

"What? What's gone?"

"Somebody broke into my room and swapped it with a fake statue."

“Ah...” As Raphael struggled with words, he remembered what Leo told him last night.

 _You're asking the wrong question_ , Leo had said. Raph wondered if this was what he meant. That inevitably, the one Donnie confided in wasn't Leo. Donnie wasn’t looking at him, inspecting a mechanic hand hanging on the wall.

Raph got up. "Stay here."

"Where are you going?"

"I'll get your stupid statue," he paused. "Don't tell Leo."

Donnie’s eyes widened, emotions swirling and mixing before being pushed back far away. It was brief, but Raph catched his relief and panic and most of all, guilt.

"But-"

"No, I understand, Donnie," Raph cut in. At Donnie's flinch, his voice softened. "Leo is hiding something. It's only right that we hide something from him in return."

"Raph-" Donnie said, his tone dangerous. "I don't want to lose Leo but I don't want to lose you either. Do you even know where you're going?"

He snorted. "I am not a genius like you, but give me some credits."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a part three. It'll end in cliffhanger, I wouldn't get my heart excited over this dropped idea if I were you.


	5. Turtle-Verse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sort of the continuation from the bonus chapter

"Was I that annoying?" Raph whispered to Donnie, snapping him out of his daze. He looked over to their past mutant counterpart who were currently enganging in some sort of violent argument. Now that he thought about it, Raphael used to smack his head all the time in the past.

"Yes," he paused. "You are."

Raph grumbled. There it was, the difference glaring at him in broad daylight. Past Raph wouldn't have let the comments easily passed. It was further proof of their current human-like existence and Donnie clung to it as much as he could.

He glanced at the family of mutant turtles, watching them bickering and arguing. Looking at them from the sideline like this, he felt impossibly nostalgic.

"I guess, we're not them anymore."

But, something, a horrible idea, kept tugging at his mind _. Wouldn't it be nice if they stayed the same?_ Donnie missed this, no matter how much he came to appreciate the normal life could offer to him. The stinky smell of the sewers, the close shadows, and the ever-present fact that they only had each other. He missed this so much.

"No, we're not," Leonardo said, his tone flat. He never looked directly at their counterparts ever since they first met, as if the sight of them gave him allergies. It gave bad impressions on mutant Raph.

Human Raph's eyes slide toward him with scurinity.

"What do we do now?" Mikey asked.

"I'll find a way to go home," Donnie said, the word home stuck in his throat for a few second. Judging from his brothers' face, the irony didn't lost on them.

Their attention once again moved to the family of mutants when turtle Raph shoved Leo. "How can you just believe they're from different world? If they start blabbering about us to the media, it's your fault!"

Human Raph winced. "You always looked calm, as if you had it all under control, it was so easy to blame you," he whispered to human Leo. It almost sounded like he was making up an excuse. Human Mikey fidgeted in his spot, the tick he used to have when his older brothers started fighting.

Human Leo smiled ambiguously. Turtle Leo, on the other hand, was fuming.

When it looked like turtle Leo was going to snap and make everything worse, Donnie decided to skillfully defuse the situation.

"We won't tell anyone," he said.

"I don't believe you," Raph scowled.

Other Raph scowled back. Turtle Mikey curiously stare at him. "Are you guys, like, our counterpart or human doppeldanger or something? Because Ray glares like our Raph."

Turtle Raph scoffed at 'Ray'. "Nobody glare like me, Mikey."

Human Leo stepped in front of him before his Raph could say anything clever. "My brother's right, we just want to go home."

He said the word home so flippantly that it wrenched Donnie's heart to hear it. The message was clear to him. _They couldn't stay here_.

Turtle Raph turned at Turtle Leo. "If they mess up, I am going to tell you 'I told you so'."

"We won't mess up," human Raph snapped. "Also, give your brother some respect, shellhole."

Donnie could hear the landmine he'd stepped.

Human Leo face-palmed.

"What did you say?" Turtle Raph stepped closer. Slowly, _menacingly_. Donnie remembered now why he used to be afraid of Raph.

Human Raph didn't back down despite being shorter than his turtle counterpart. "I said leave him alone," he spat out. "Shellhole."

Human Mikey glanced between them as if he was watching a particularly interesting tennis match.

Human Raph also stepped closer and even though he wasn't as tall and as broad as the other Raph, he still managed to look threatening. Donnie noted that Turtle Leo had taken a protective stance behind him.

"I know what your game's here, pal," human Raph sneered. "You thought you were the strongest. You wanted control. And when the reality kicked you in the face, you couldn't accept the fact that you couldn't save everyone you loved."

"Raph," human Leo said with warning tone.

"You throw a tantrum," Raph continued. "But it was easier to blame everyone else, wasn't it?"

"Shut up," Turtle Raph growled. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know everything about you," Raph said, smirking now. "You don't deserve them and you know that deep down in your heart. You keep blaming Leo, but the truth is, everything is your fault, Raphael."

His eyes, when he said that, reminded Donnie of a time in the past. Steely gaze that didn't reflect anything. Only once Raph ever stated that Splinter's death was his fault. Donnie’s heart clenched. He wondered how long had Raph carried his guilt with him.

"That's not true!" Human Leo suddenly blurt out. Both Raph looked startled at his outburst. "It's not your fault, Raphael."

For the first time ever since he woke up in this world, he looked at his counterpart in the eyes. "Look at what you're doing! Raphael is blaming himself because of you!"

Turtle Leo blinked at him, flustered. "I-I am sorry," he stammered.

"Don't aplogize to me, you owe it to them,” he snapped. It had been a long time since Donnie catched him losing his temper. “You know you should be better than this. You're their leader! Act like one!"

"Hey!" Turtle Raph stepped in front of his big brother, shielding him from Human Leo. "Leave my brother alone!"

"Raphael's right, Lewis," Mikey chimed in for the first time. "Leave Leo alone."

He was smiling but his eyes were cold. Donnie shivered. Mikey turned those cold eyes at his counterpart. "And you? What are you going to do about this?"

Other Mikey, who currently sat at the couch with cereals in his hands, froze completely. "Um, yes?"

"My brother just insulted yours."

Mikey looked really uncomfortable. "So what? There's nothing I can do about it."

Human Mikey throw his hands up in the air. "You always do this! Be useful for once in your life!"

Donnie sighed. "Stop it, Mike-I mean, Miguel."

Human Mikey hissed at the stranger's name. Beside him, Leo leaned his back againts the wall. He looked really exhausted, his default face these days ever since his dream revelation.

Nobody wanted this, Donnie realized. Neither Leo nor Mikey. Not even Raph, who secretly longed for normal life more than any of them. They didn't ask to be thrown over to a completely different world and they certainly didn't ask to be shoved back and had their past treating them like they were foreigners.

He clenched his fist and ushered Mikey away, his older brothers trailing behind.

He stopped before his counterpart, taking in the naked green skin and the inhuman face. "For shell's sake, we're here because of you. Fix your mistake for once," he whispered before leaving.

They ended up exploring the sewers because being in the lair would be awkward, right now. Mikey looked sad, Raphael was completely red in the face, Leo sat down and flopped his head in his hands. They all looked like lost children and something about the miserable sight struck Donnie with a sense of deja vu.

He chuckled. "This is just like the first time we woke up in that world."

Leo's head perked up and Raphael smiled a little.

"Oh, I was wondering why I felt like I've done this before, so that's why!" Mikey chirped up.

They had ended up going to the sewer too, back then, before Leo suggested living in the surface next to Hamato's house.

Donnie grinned tiredly. Just like back then, he knew he'd be okay with his family by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this long after I posted the bonus chapter. I hope you enjoy it~


	6. Hey, There, Kids With Guns part 3

The system of traffic light was sure interesting. Red, yellow, and green. There was something fascinating about it, about the colors, about the street following its rule. Mikey could stand under the traffic light and watch the lights blinking and see the street responded to it.

Red meant stopping. Red, the color of blood.

“Mikey, you don’t have to come,” Raph said, grunting. His voice was like a breeze, tickling his ears and as Mikey looked up, it felt like a strong wall that could protect him from anything. In the distant, he could see the tall building that exclusively belonged to Shredder and Foot Clan.

He never noticed it before, but from down here, that particular building stood tall, as if looming over the city, its shadow gripping under their feet.

“No,” he said firmly. “I am worried.”

“Another nightmare?”

It was unfair how Raph could ask that with such gentle voice. Mikey should be the one to ask that. He’d changed, he’d seen deaths and rebirths, but his brothers still treated him the same as that ignorant child that had let Splinter slipped away.

It didn’t matter how much his brothers wished to shelter him. There was something knocking their peaceful life off-balance and even though nobody spoke up, he could see it threatening everything he had.

“Last night,” he whispered. “You were the dead body on the floor.”

“It’s not real, Mikey,” Raph said. Mikey wanted to believe him.

He wished it didn’t have to matter. That statue. Donnie was getting distracted and Leo was being sneaky and Mikey was profoundly worried. He wished none of it mattered.

_That omonious statue._

Mikey tried not to think too much about it, glancing at his brother’s brooding figure.

Raph was wearing Leo’s black jacket, a hood thrown over his head and a hat shadowing his face, matching Mikey’s overall attire. They could have waited until night set in. Or even in broad daylight like this, they could just jump over the roof and find roads unseen by normal people. It would have been faster.

Instead, they walked to Shredder’s compound side by side as if they were brothers on an evening walk. Each slow agonizing steps bringing him closer to enemy’s nest. He knew that Raph was afraid too. Mikey wondered what his nightmare had been about.

It took a while but they managed to arrive at Shredder’s front door without bumping into anyone they knew. _What now?_ Mikey thought. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like cursing Donnie’s stupid statue.

He was about to suggest climbing up using Donnie’s invention when he noticed the new company.

“Mikey,” Raph breathed out.

“I know,” Mikey whispered, tensing up. He took out his nunchaku. “This is a trap.”

In a minute since they arrived, around forty Foot ninjas were surrounding the area, with both of them in the center.

 _Leo will be so pissed_ , Mikey thought. He’d blame it on Raph.

.

.

When Mikey woke up, darkness didn’t leave him. Neither did Raph. He tried to get up, but Raph hold his body down. “Careful, you were injected with a poison.”

 _Poison_. When was the last time that word actually sounded threatening? Mikey laughed. Raph looked really concerned.

“Are you okay, Mikey?” Raph waved a hand in front of his face. “Can you see how many fingers I am holding up?”

“Raph, you’re noisy.”

“Why, you little-“

“Where are we?” he got up. This time, Raph didn’t stop him. The darkness felt overbearing, pressing to his back. He shuddered a little. They were in some sort of cell, he noted. Only walls around them and the window had bars as if to make sure they couldn’t contact the outside world.

“Enemy’s lair.”

 _Enemy_. That too, was a word he hadn’t heard for a long time. It felt almost foreign to hear it now. Ever since the Splinter’s death, they didn’t really have enemy, not like the Shredder and the Foot had been.

He was so out of it that he didn’t notice their company until he spoke up. “I don’t recall ever warrant something as to be called the enemy, Raphael Spliterson.”

Mikey jumped, startled out of his skin. The Shredder was sitting in front of their cell, watching them like they were some sort of interesting specimen. At least, he didn’t looked down on them in contempt. That would have been too similiar to his nightmares.

Raph bared his teeth. “Yes, if you’re not an enemy, do you mind letting us go, then?”

“You’re the one coming up here unannounced, surely you already know the consequence?”

“Ah, what a good hospitality. We’ll make sure to repay you next time you come to our house.”

“No, you won’t.”

Mikey thought he might have heard a hint of smile in his voice.

“You’re right, I won’t,” Raph said bluntly. “I won’t let you even take a tiny step inside my home. The last time one of you came to our house, our statue got stolen. You’re a lot of things, but I don’t expect you to be a thief as well.”

Shredder’s eyes hardened. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Then with those non-threatening words, he left them. It felt almost anti-climatic. Was he going to let them rot in his cell? The Shredder of their world would have gladly done that, honor be damned. This one was different, no scar to speak of, no shameful conducts to get scorned of, and more importantly, no revenge nor vendetta he’d like to carry againts them.

“Maybe he’s right,” Mikey said, thoughtful. Raph looked betrayed at his words. “Raph, we don’t know anything about that statue.”

“It’s important for Donnie.”

“And why is that?” he tilted his head. “Do you think it has something to do with home-project?”

Raph didn’t answer. The thought must have crossed his mind.

Mikey leaned againts the cold bricks of the wall, breathing hard. Raph was watching him. “Are you really okay?”

“Yeah,” he forced a smile. “It’s just, something about this place, it reminds me of my nightmare.”

Everything about Shredder reminded him of his old life. It had been glorious, but sweet shell, it had been bloody painful too.

Raph sat down beside him. Mikey let his head hang down in his shoulder, nuzzling againts Raph’s neck. “Do you think he’ll let us out?”

“We’ll break out as soon as you’re okay.”

 _I am okay_ , he wanted to protest but his eyes were heavy. He missed Mother already. To hear her lullaby now would be a luxury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here's the end. It has been fun despite the circumstance.

**Author's Note:**

> Here comes part 2 containing the failed ideas that I sort of abandon but still stay true to the main story!


End file.
